Great Salt Lake Biology

Great Salt Lake Biology
Author: Bonnie K. Baxter
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2020-07-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030403521

Great Salt Lake is an enormous terminal lake in the western United States. It is a highly productive ecosystem, which has global significance for millions of migrating birds who rely on this critical feeding station on their journey through the American west. For the human population in the adjacent metropolitan area, this body of water provides a significant economic resource as industries, such as brine shrimp harvesting and mineral extraction, generate jobs and income for the state of Utah. In addition, the lake provides the local population with ecosystem services, especially the creation of mountain snowpack that generates water supply, and the prevention of dust that may impair air quality. As a result of climate change and water diversions for consumptive uses, terminal lakes are shrinking worldwide, and this edited volume is written in this urgent context. This is the first book ever centered on Great Salt Lake biology. Current and novel data presented here paint a comprehensive picture, building on our past understanding and adding complexity. Together, the authors explore this saline lake from the microbial diversity to the invertebrates and the birds who eat them, along a dynamic salinity gradient with unique geochemistry. Some unusual perspectives are included, including the impact of tar seeps on the lake biology and why Great Salt Lake may help us search for life on Mars. Also, we consider the role of human perceptions and our effect on the biology of the lake. The editors made an effort to involve a diversity of experts on the Great Salt Lake system, but also to include unheard voices such as scientists at state agencies or non-profit advocacy organizations. This book is a timely discussion of a terminal lake that is significant, unique, and threatened.

Extremophiles as Astrobiological Models

Extremophiles as Astrobiological Models
Author: Joseph Seckbach
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2021-01-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1119591686

The data in this book are new or updated, and will serve also as Origin of Life and evolutionary studies. Endospores of bacteria have a long history of use as model organisms in astrobiology, including survival in extreme environments and interplanetary transfer of life. Numerous other bacteria as well as archaea, lichens, fungi, algae and tiny animals (tardigrades, or water bears) are now being investigated for their tolerance to extreme conditions in simulated or real space environments. Experimental results from exposure studies on the International Space Station and space probes for up to 1.5 years are presented and discussed. Suggestions for extaterrestrial energy sources are also indicated. Audience Researchers and graduate students in microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and astrobiology, as well as anyone interested in the search for extraterrestrial life and its technical preparations.

Saline Lakes

Saline Lakes
Author: John M. Melack
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2002-04-30
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781402005671

Publications from 7th International Conference on Salt Lakes, held in Death Valley National Park, California, USA, September 1999

Artemia: Basic and Applied Biology

Artemia: Basic and Applied Biology
Author: Th.J. Abatzopoulos
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2013-03-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 940170791X

The objectives of this volume are to present an up-to-date (literature survey up to 2001) account of the biology of Artemia focusing particularly upon the major advances in knowledge and understanding achieved in the last fifteen or so years and emphasising the operational and functional linkage between the biological phenomena described and the ability of this unusual animal to thrive in extreme environments. Artemia is a genus of anostracan crustaceans, popularly known as brine shrimps. These animals are inhabitants of saline environments which are too extreme for the many species which readily predate them if opportunity offers. They are, thus, effectively inhabitants of extreme (hypersaline) habitats, but at the same time are able to tolerate physiologically large changes in salinity, ionic composition, temperature and oxygen tension. Brine shrimp are gener ally thought of as tropical and subtropical, but are also found in regions where temperatures are very low for substantial periods such as Tibet, Siberia and the Atacama desert. They have, thus, great powers of adaptation and are of interest for this capacity alone. The earliest scientific reference to brine shrimp is in 1756, when Schlosser reported their existence in the saltpans of Lymington, England. These saltpans no longer exist and brine shrimp are not found in Britain today. Later, Linnaeus named the brine shrimp Cancer salinus and later still, Leach used the name Artemia salina. The strong effect which the salinity of the medium exerts on the morphological development of Artemia is now widely recognised.

Refuge

Refuge
Author: Terry Tempest Williams
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 337
Release: 1992-09-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0679740244

In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, Refuge transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace, resulting in a work that has become a classic.

Salt Marshes

Salt Marshes
Author: Judith S Weis
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2009-07-16
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0813548519

Tall green grass. Subtle melodies of songbirds. Sharp whines of muskrats. Rustles of water running through the grasses. And at low tide, a pungent reminder of the treasures hidden beneath the surface.All are vital signs of the great salt marshes' natural resources. Now championed as critical habitats for plants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, these ecological wonders were once considered unproductive wastelands, home solely to mosquitoes and toxic waste, and mistreated for centuries by the human population. Exploring the fascinating biodiversity of these boggy wetlands, Salt Marshes offers readers a wealth of essential information about a variety of plants, fish, and animals, the importance of these habitats, consequences of human neglect and thoughtless development, and insight into how these wetlands recover. Judith S. Weis and Carol A. Butler shed ample light on the human impact, including chapters on physical and biological alterations, pollution, and remediation and recovery programs. In addition to a national and global perspective, the authors place special emphasis on coastal wetlands in the Atlantic and Gulf regions, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, calling attention to their historical and economic legacies. Written in clear, easy-to-read language, Salt Marshes proves that the battles for preservation and conservation must continue, because threats to salt marshes ebb and flow like the water that runs through them.

Lake Hydrology

Lake Hydrology
Author: William LeRoy Evans III
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2021-06-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1421439948

The first book dedicated to describing the hydrology of water flow in lake systems, geared for limnologists and students of hydrology. With fresh water becoming a critical issue around the world, lake mass balance—the hydrology or water movement in lakes—is increasingly important to environmental studies and remediation projects. Unfortunately, lake hydrology is often only briefly covered in broader texts on hydrogeology and hydrology or is confined to specialized research papers. Lake Hydrology rigorously describes the hydrology of flow into and out of lake systems. Explaining the physical parameters that influence lake behavior, as well as the mathematics that describes these systems, this in-depth book fills an important niche in the literature of watershed science. This text • describes the physical structure and nature of drainage basins and explains the origin and classification of lakes • explores the hydrology of lake mass balance and storage as it pertains to lake stage, groundwater and lake bottom interaction, hypsometry, lake hydraulics, precipitation, surface flow, evaporation, and transpiration • provides models, practical information, and solutions for lake management or remediation planning utilizing basic data, including stage fluctuation, evapotranspiration, lake-bottom seepage, precipitation, and surface flow • uses examples from real-world long-term studies, including Utah's Great Salt Lake and Florida's Lake Jackson, a karstic lake system • examines the effect of storm events including the temporal and areal distribution of rainfall, and flow paths of water in the catchment from precipitation • includes an introduction to relevant scientific principles, such as dimensional analysis, the properties of water, and the hydrologic cycle Unlike most limnology texts, which emphasize lake ecology and biology, Lake Hydrology is designed to truly elucidate the hydrology of lake systems, especially as it relates to components of the hydrologic cycle. This book will greatly benefit professionals and researchers involved in lake management, remediation, or investigation of lake systems, and can be used as is or integrated within graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in limnology.

The Mono Basin Ecosystem

The Mono Basin Ecosystem
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 1987-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309037778

Mono Basin is a closed hydrologic basin spanning the border between California and Nevada. Los Angeles has been diverting streams since 1941 that normally would flow into Mono Lake. It has been predicted that continued diversion will have major ecological consequences for the natural resources of the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area. This book studies the ecological risk assessment that considers the effects of water diversions on an inland saline lake. It examines the hydrology of the Mono Basin, investigates the lake's physical and chemical systems, studies the biological relationships, and predicts the effects of changes in lake levels on the ecosystem.